Thursday, October 13, 2016

The Democratic candidate for president is threatening to do damage to at least six groups that thrive on Liberty. Why? Because many of those groups are challenging vested interests to which she is beholden. But the Libertarian candidates of Governors Johnson and Weld will support them. These six groups are home-schoolers, charter school supporters, concealed-carry permit holders, fracking workers, users of e-cigarettes and vapor products, and Uber drivers and others in the “sharing” economy. So everyone who is in or supportive of those groups should realize that their liberties are being threatened, and they should vote accordingly.

The common denominator for each of these six groups is Liberty. For example, since parents are in a much better position to decide where and how their children should be educated, society should not only allow but should encourage parents to be active in being involved in those decisions. Thus home schooling and charter schools, where Liberty, choice and competition are pervasive, should be encouraged. Although there certainly should be some restrictions upon people who have shown propensities for violence or mental illness, concealed-carry is a Liberty that should not be restricted for honest citizens. Similarly, although the stopping of fracking has in many ways become a symbol for saving the environment, science has not proved this to be the case. And fracking is a material source of energy independence, as well as 100s of thousands of jobs. In addition, fracking in our country results in increased national security because it drives down the price of oil and gas, which materially reduces the ability of exporting regimes such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran to do mischief. On a different but related subject, today more than 9 million Americans vape. Maybe some of them do that instead of smoking cigarettes, or maybe some people start with vaping on the way up to smoking cigarettes. But the government should focus upon getting honest information into the marketplace instead of adding vaping products to its long list of prohibited items. And the future is Uber, Airbnb and other technologies that provide quality and low-priced goods and services to their consumers. In other words, Liberty works in all of these diverse areas. But Liberty is under attack. Yes, the government has a part to play in requiring responsibility and setting up systems that place honest information into the marketplace. But otherwise, decisions in these areas should be left to consumers instead of the government, which is so strongly influenced by vested interests.

Judge Jim Gray

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Judge Jim Gray

About Judge Jim Gray

Cited on numerous occasions for his work in the areas of both social reform and civic philanthropy, Judge James P. Gray currently presides over the civil trial calendar for the Superior Court of Orange County.
Judge Gray was appointed to the Santa Ana Municipal Court in 1983 by Governor George Deukmejian, and in 1989, Deukmejian elevated Gray to his post with the Superior Court.
Throughout his 29-year career within the legal and judicial community, Jim Gray has not only donated hundreds of hours of volunteer time to existing community service-oriented activities, he also has created and implemented a number of innovative programs of his own, each one a success story in itself.